The best part of chicken noodle soup is the noodles. Well, at least to us who do not like chicken. Or vegetables. So you might ask us, “Why would you even make this recipe?” The answer includes very complex reasoning of our picky eater brains. For some reason, if you put all of this together with LOADS of noodles, we end up getting a few bites of chicken and vegetables in our bodies, which makes our Mom relieved.
We had always thought that chicken noodle soup was either super complex, or it came in a can. Who knew there was a third option?
Our Levels of Chicken Noodle Soup
There are three levels of chicken noodle soup as we see it. First is the condensed can from the grocery store. We tried that once. It was no. But then again, that is a usual response to anything new. On the other extreme is a recipe that our Mom made a few times which involved making her own chicken stock. It took her all day and the amount of work seemed unappealing, to say the least.
So when we found this recipe, we found our middle ground. It did not look too difficult and we could decide how many vegetables to put in it!
Choosing our Methods
The first time we made this, our Mom grilled the chicken. But we found it to be a bit dry and tough when it ended in the soup. So this time, we just sauteed it in a pan and cut it into small pieces.
Our next hurdle was the onion. Cutting onions is detestable. Not only do you have to eventually eat them, but your eyes hurt! That isn’t the worst of it, however. The worst is watching your Mom twitch every time you bring down the huge scary knife and to hear her say, “Please be careful,” over and over again.
On a side note, isn’t this onion sprout pretty? Since we have taken over the cooking, the onions are not getting used as much as they used to be. From what we read, you can still eat a sprouted onion, but they are softer and more bitter. This is not something we are interested in.
Next up was the celery and carrots, which felt like a breeze after my eyes recovered.
We cooked them for a bit to sweeten the onion mostly and then added the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
How Many Noodles?
The recipe called for a cup and half of egg noodles. A cup and a half? Excuse me? We decided to take matters into our own hands and put in 5 cups instead. This MAY have been a bit much. As it simmered on the stove, we noticed it becoming much less like a soup.
We ended up shortening the time by quite a bit, as it was cooking down to a pasta dish instead of a soup.
Even with all of those noodles, we did manage to get some chicken and vegetables into our bellies. You are welcome, Mom.
Chicken Noodle Soup with Extra Noodles for Kids
So many noodles!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Cup Chopped Onion
- 1 Cup Chopped Celery
- 5 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 Pound Chopped Cooked Chicken Breast
- 4 Cups Egg Noodles (We did 5 and it was really a stew.)
- 1 Cup Sliced Carrots
- ½ Teaspoon Dried Basil
- ½ Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Cook chicken either on the stove top or grill. Cut into small pieces.
- Chop onions, celery, and carrots.
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, vegetable broth, chicken, egg noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 10-20 minutes, keeping an eye on your noodle to broth proportions.
Notes
Adapted from allrecipes